Good morning. I’m pleased to be here with Senior Deputy Governor Carolyn Rogers to discuss the July Monetary Policy Report (MPR) and today’s policy announcement.
The law obliging banks to suspend money transfers for two days if information about payees is on the Bank of Russia’s database of actual and attempted fraudulent transactions will become effective on 25 July 2024. If a credit institution fails to do so, it will have to reimburse the client for the funds transferred within 30 calendar days.
The Bank of Canada has reduced its target for the overnight rate by 25 basis points to 4½%, with the Bank Rate at 4¾% and the deposit rate at 4½%. The central bank continues its policy of balance sheet normalization.
Monetary policy is working to reduce price pressures in the Canadian economy. Core inflation is expected to ease gradually, while the path of CPI inflation will be bumpy. Inflation returns sustainably to the 2% target in the second half of 2025.
The Bank of Russia organized a seminar for the BRICS central banks on financial literacy and financial inclusion as part of the third meeting of the BRICS deputy finance ministers and central bank governors in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Today, the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance, led by Chairman Warren Davidson (OH-08), is holding a hearing entitled “Housing Solutions: Cutting Through Government Red Tape.”
The third regular meeting of the BRICS deputy finance ministers and central bank governors took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on July 23. The primary focus of the joint session was a report from the BRICS countries on improving the global monetary and financial system. The report offers practical solutions for payments, settlements, clearing, and insurance.
The Bank of Russia has established new rates for compulsory insurance of carriers' third-party liability for damage to passengers (CICL). Effective August 3, the lower bound of the range of insurance rates for intercity bus, tourist water, helicopter, railway, and sea transportation will decrease by 20%.
Bank of Russia Governor Elvira Nabiullina and Bank of Russia Deputy Governor Alexey Zabotkin will participate in a press conference on July 26 at 15:00, following the Board of Directors' monetary policy meeting.
By signing the Paris Agreement, South Africa committed to transforming its economy to contribute to keeping global temperature rises well below 2°C. This transformation will inevitably impact financial institutions and could represent a systemic risk for the financial sector. According to central bank and academic research, an orderly transition should not jeopardize financial stability – but understanding transition risks for the banking sector, monitoring them and, when necessary, implementing macroprudential measures is necessary to ensure this stability.
Today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed bipartisan financial services legislation aimed at combating the use of financial technology for illicit finance and increasing accountability within the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
The Bank of Russia has set new rates for the compulsory insurance of hazardous facility owners' third-party liability. The relevant Bank of Russia Ordinance was officially registered by the Ministry of Justice and will become effective on July 30, 2024. The recalculation aims to more accurately reflect emergency risk levels and consider loss ratio dynamics.
The Bank of Russia and VEB.RF have signed a contract for purchasing the SLAVA business centre, which is currently under construction near the Belorusskaya metro station in Moscow. Upon the transfer of the title to the real estate and the completion of repairs, the regulator will allocate the majority of its current buildings to the Federal Agency for State Property Management.
U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Chairman of the Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, introduced legislation aimed at increasing competition in the housing market. The proposed Housing Acquisitions Review and Transparency (HART) Act mandates that corporations and private equity firms report significant residential property transactions to antitrust enforcers. This measure is intended to prevent anticompetitive practices that could lead to higher housing costs, reduced services, and exclusion of homebuyers from the market.
The mortgage portfolio expanded by 3.1% over the month, compared to 1.7% in May, according to preliminary data. The acceleration was associated with borrowers’ desire to raise a mortgage loan before the termination of the Subsidised Mortgage programme and changes in the Family Mortgage programme. Mortgages issued under the subsidised programmes accounted for 80%.
Christine Lagarde, President of the European Central Bank (ECB), and Luis de Guindos, Vice-President of the ECB, addressed a press conference in Frankfurt am Main on July 18, 2024. They announced that the Governing Council decided to keep the three key ECB interest rates unchanged.
Annual inflation in most regions of Russia accelerated in June, increasing by 0.29 percentage points on average compared to May, reaching 8.59%. Price growth sped up in 62 Russian regions.
Today, the Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, Patrick McHenry (NC-10), and Ranking Member Maxine Waters (CA-43) released a staff report from the Committee’s bipartisan Working Group on Artificial Intelligence (AI). The group is led by Digital Assets, Financial Technology and Inclusion Subcommittee Chairman French Hill (AR-02) and Subcommittee Ranking Member Stephen F. Lynch (MA-08). This report culminates six roundtables focused on identifying existing and growing AI use cases across the financial services and housing industries, examining benefits, potential...